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The Impact of Office Machinery and Computer Capital on the Demand for Heterogeneous Labour

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  • Falk, Martin

    (WIFO - Austrian Institute of Economic Research)

  • Koebel, Bertrand

    (Louis Pasteur University Strasbourg)

Abstract

We study the impact of office and computing machinery (OCM) on the demands for workers with different educational levels. The empirical analysis relies on a system of demand equations that nests the translog, the generalised Leontief and the normalised quadratic specifications. Using panel data on 35 German industries, we find little evidence for a robust substitutability relationship between unskilled workers and OCM capital in manufacturing industries. In the non-manufacturing sector, however, we find some evidence for substitutability between OCM capital and unskilled workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Falk, Martin & Koebel, Bertrand, 2003. "The Impact of Office Machinery and Computer Capital on the Demand for Heterogeneous Labour," IZA Discussion Papers 873, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp873
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    capital-skill complementarity; skill-biased technological change;

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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